Home Minister critical of international focus of trafficking in India

Critical of the international assessment of the extent of trafficking of women and children in India, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said the problem here was not bigger than that in other countries.

“It has been necessary for us to say there is a problem (of trafficking) in India. But to think that it is bigger than in other countries is not correct,” Patil said in his inaugural address at a national consultation on preventing and combating human trafficking in New Delhi.

“We have to take into consideration the number of human beings in India when talking about the extent of the problem. However, even one case is not acceptable to us,” he said, noting the problem should be seen in the correct perspective.

Patil’s comments come in the backdrop of the US placing India in the Tier-2 list of countries where human trafficking is a matter of concern.

The Minister, addressing the ‘National Consultation on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking of Human Beings with Special Focus on Women and Children’, said the problem of human trafficking in India has been discussed on a large scale at the international level.

“Human trafficking takes place in India, but the scale (as per international community) is not correct,” Patil said.

“Many times, we have discussed the issue in the Ministry and with dignitaries coming from other countries,” he said.

He, however, added that India needs to pay more attention to the issue than it has been so far.